Bitcoin

Keel Shuts All Bitcoin Mining With $819M Ready for AI Pivot


Key Takeaways

Keel Sells 1,085 BTC as Revenue Falls 50% in Second Quarter

Keel Infrastructure has completed the shutdown of its U.S. bitcoin mining operations, marking one of the clearest breaks yet from the industry that built its energy portfolio.

The company is now preparing its American sites for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing workloads. Three priority projects are approaching full permitting, while Keel is in active discussions with several prospective tenants, according to CEO Ben Gagnon in the company’s Q2 2026 report.

“Power is the constraint. Everything else is downstream of it,” Gagnon said, describing the thesis behind a transition that began about 18 months ago.

Bitcoin Sales Bolster $819 Million Liquidity Position

The pivot is weighing on Keel’s legacy operations. Second-quarter revenue fell 50% from a year earlier to $30.4 million, partly because of lower bitcoin prices and the April shutdown of mining at Moses Lake. Keel posted a $65 million net loss, while adjusted EBITDA was negative $24 million.

Keel is also reducing its bitcoin treasury. It sold 1,085 BTC for $75 million between April 1 and Aug. 7, leaving 1,861 BTC on its balance sheet.

The company ended that period with about $819 million of liquidity, including $698 million in unrestricted cash and $121 million of unencumbered bitcoin. It also raised $458 million through convertible notes during the quarter.

Meanwhile, Keel is expanding beyond its U.S. pipeline. Its Sherbrooke, Quebec, project includes an agreement covering the conditional transfer and operation of 96 MW of power capacity.

Bitcoin Miners Chase Higher AI Returns

Keel’s strategy follows a broader shift among miners that increasingly view grid connections and power contracts as more valuable than mining equipment.

Bitdeer recently signed a 16-year AI infrastructure agreement worth about $4.7 billion for 121 MW of computing capacity at its Tydal campus in Norway.

MARA CEO Fred Thiel recently said the company was pursuing large-scale AI infrastructure, as scarce electricity can produce far higher returns when directed to AI than to bitcoin mining, with bitcoin mining only viable where electricity remains exceptionally cheap.

Keel has yet to announce a comparable long-term AI lease. That makes its next milestone critical. The company has already exited U.S. mining and assembled the capital; it now needs signed customers to prove that scarce power can translate into durable AI revenue.



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